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Good article Bob, I'd like to point out a few things, however.
In the "What is a cycle" paragraph, you sort of state that the bacteria are called ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. That's not the case, as the nitrIte and nitrAte are actually the "waste" products of the bacteria. I forget the names of the bacteria though.
For conducting the cycle, many of us prefer that the ammonia dosing be much higher than you stated. 3-5ppm is more along the lines of what I think is the right number, rather than 0.5. The reason for this is that is simulates a much higher bioload, but doesn't increase the amount of time necessary to cycle by very much. The bacteria multiply by splitting, so at each split you double-up on the size of the colony, so the extra time is minimal. The simulated higher bio-load is what allows you to safely place a larger amount of fish safely immediately upon completion of the cycle.
The most critical thing once nitrItes and nitrAtes start to show is continuing to feed the nitrifying bacteria with ammonia. You stated this, but you didn't stress it very much. Towards the end of the cycle, it's critical to feed ammonia every day or two. Going any longer than that can cause that bacteria to run out of food and begin to die off. If that occurs, you'll still have a large colony of bacteria to convert nitrIte to nitrAte, but there won't be any bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrIte to feed those bacteria, so in turn they will die off as well. It's also just as important to continue to feed once the cycle is complete until the day before you're ready to stock, then do the large PWC the night before.
You mentioned the temperature, but didn't explain it. The bacteria will thrive at warmer temperatures, like you said, in the mid-80s range. Additionally, lots of oxygenation will assist them to thrive as well, by adding an air stone or reducing the water level to allow for more surface agitation and gas exchange to occur.
All in all, good write up, and I very much appreciate the lighter, more humerous, nature of it.
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